PURCHASE, N.Y. – For the third time in the last four years, the Manhattanville College softball team is back in the NCAA Div. III Championships and will vie for second straight regional championship at the Rochester, New York Regional, which runs Friday through Sunday at the St. John Fisher College Softball Field.
 
Manhattanville will kick off the double-elimination tournament on Friday at 1 p.m. when the third-seeded Valiants take on second-seeded William Paterson University in the first game of the regional. Top-seeded St. John Fisher will face fourth-seeded Penn State Behrend in the second opening-day contest at 3:30 p.m. A full tournament schedule is listed at the bottom of the page.
 
Four teams will compete at 14 regional sites and three teams will compete at two regional sites on May 12-14, with the team advancing from each regional moving on to the super regional round on May 19 and 20. The finals will be held May 25-20 at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
 
HOW MANHATTANVILLE GOT HERE: Manhattanville (30-13, 14-0 MAC Freedom) was one of 42 conference champions to earn an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament, winning three straight games on Sunday to emerge from the loser's bracket and capture the program's third MAC Freedom Tournament championship and sixth conference tournament title in 11 years under head coach Dale Martin.
 
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY: The Valiants will be making their seventh appearance in the NCAA Tournament in program history. Manhattanville is 8-13 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, having made the tourney previously in 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2014 and 2016. The squad is one of only three Valiant programs (women's hockey, men's hockey) to win a game in the NCAA Tournament and has the most NCAA wins of any Manhattanville team.

OFFENSIVE-MINDED: Manhattanville enters the NCAA Tournament with one of the top offenses in Division III yet again this season. The Valiants head into the week second in the country in home runs per game (1.05/gm), third in slugging percentage (.549), fourth in doubles per game (2.26/gm), 14th in runs per game (6.95/gm) and 18th in batting average (.350).
 
IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS: Manhattanville remains all over the D-III national statistics entering the NCAA Tournament. Senior Alicia Marino (Mahopac, N.Y./Pleasantville) leads the team by ranking in the top-75 of Division III in five different categories: ninth in homers (12), 18th in homers per game (0.28/gm), 30th in total bases (99), 39th in RBIs (43) and 71st in slugging percentage (.723). Among hitters, senior Dolores Diemicke (North Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge) and sophomore Aarin Hartenstein (Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge) also are 48th in home runs (8), sophomore Desiree Buboi (Villa Park, Calif./Orange Lutheran) ranks both 55th in runs per game (1.10/gm) and 75th in RBIs (39), and sophomore Sophia Chapelone (Carlsbad, Calif./La Costa Canyon) ranks 69th in doubles per game (0.38/gm). In the circle, junior Alycia Feeney (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) ranks 14th in D-III in shutouts (8), 28th in wins (17) and 51st in saves (2) so far this year as well.
 
SENIOR SUCCESS: This year's senior class is the most successful four-year class in school history, boasting a 113-48 record and .702 winning percentage since the start of the 2014 season. Diemicke and classmates Brittany Deieso (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) and Shelbee Damianos (Ojai, Calif./Nordhoff) have been a part of all three MAC Freedom Tournament titles during the run, making them the first three players in program history to be on three conference tournament championships teams.
 
FAMILIAR FOES: Two of Manhattanville's three possible opponents this weekend are recent NCAA Tournament foes. The Valiants played William Paterson twice at the 2014 Salisbury, Maryland Regionals, losing the first game before coming back to win the next day on the way to the regional final. The Valiants also met up with St. John Fisher in last year's Super Regionals, with the Cardinals winning both games.
 
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS: William Paterson (28-11, 15-3 NJAC), which was ranked #24 in the NFCA Div. III Top 25 Poll last week and is receiving votes this week, earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament after finishing second in the highly competitive New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) during the regular season. The Pioneers went 1-2 in the NJAC Tournament last weekend, beating Stockton University (6-3) on Tuesday before falling to eventual champion Kean University (2-0) and Stockton (1-0) on Saturday.
 
William Paterson is hitting .321 (78th in D-III) as a team this season and averages 4.59 runs per game. All-NJAC first-team selection Christine Griffith leads the Pioneers and ranks 51st in D-III with a .443 batting average (35 for 79) with a team-best five homers, seven triples (6th D-III), nine doubles, 32 runs batted in and a .924 slugging percentage (7th D-III). All-NJAC honorable mention Vanessa Archibold is hitting .355 with 23 stolen bases and a team-best 28 runs scored as well. In the circle, NJAC Co-Pitcher of the Year Allison Podmajersky is 11-7 with a 1.51 ERA (56th D-III), seven shutouts (20th D-III) and 93 strikeouts in 115.2 innings, while All-NJAC second-teamer Gabriella Castelli provides another excellent option with her 15-4 record and 1.43 ERA (44th D-III) in 112.2 innings.
 
The Valiants and Pioneers have three common opponents this year. The Valiants lost 3-1 to Rowan University in Virginia Beach and fell 5-4 to Plattsburgh State University in Florida, while sweeping MAC Freedom foe DeSales University, 9-6 and 5-1. William Paterson is 5-0 against those three teams, including an impressive sweep of then-#5 Rowan, 3-2 and 7-3, on April 23, and a 3-2 win over Plattsburgh on Spring Break.
 
ALL-TIME VS. WILLIAM PATERSON: Manhattanville is 7-19-1 all-time against the Pioneers and 1-2 in NCAA Tournament play. The Pioneers won the first NCAA meeting by a 3-0 score in 2005 before meeting two times at the Salisbury Regional nine years later, when then-#24 Paterson beat the Valiants 2-0 before Manhattanville came back to reach the regional final with a 3-0 win the next day. The teams met twice last season, with the Valiants knocking off the then-undefeated Pioneers by scores of 9-0 and 10-4 in Wayne.
 
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS: St. John Fisher (36-6, 12-2 Empire 8) is ranked 8th in the NFCA Div. III Top 25 Poll after capturing the Empire 8 Conference Tournament title as the second seed, as the Cardinals defeated top-seeded and national #21 Ithaca College in the if-necessary game on Sunday. The Cardinals defeated Stevens Institute of Technology, 2-1, in their opener before a 4-0 win over Ithaca to reach the title round, and then beat the Bombers 2-1 in the final after Ithaca pulled out a 2-0 win in game one.
 
The Cardinals boast one of the top pitching staffs in the country, leading Division III with a 0.77 ERA in 42 games. The team is led by two-time All-American Lindsey Thayer, who is 23-5 with a nation-best 0.42 ERA and 346 strikeouts in 168.1 innings, holding opponents to a .105 batting average. She is complemented by Monica Moses, who is 13-1 with a 1.32 ERA in 19 appearances. St. John Fisher also ranks 11th in D-III by hitting .359 as a team this season, outscoring their opponents 282-49 this year. Katie Mazierski leads the team and ranks 19th in the country with a .483 batting average (56 for 116) to go with 36 runs scored and 14 stolen bases, while Ashley Price has six homers and a team-best 39 RBIs and Sarah Kubik has hit a team-leading seven long balls.
 
St. John Fisher and Manhattanville have one common opponent this season, having both played Ithaca. The Valiants lost twice to the Bombers, 5-4 and 1-0, on April 30, while the Cardinals are 3-2 against the Bombers this year, splitting an Empire 8 doubleheader on April 9 before beating Ithaca twice in three meetings in the Empire 8 Tournament.
 
ALL-TIME VS. ST. JOHN FISHER: Manhattanville and St. John Fisher have only met twice all-time and the history is recent: the Cardinals defeated the Valiants 2-1 and 9-2 in the NCAA Super Regionals last season.
 
SCOUTING THE LIONS: Penn State Behrend (26-12, 16-2 AMCC) finished as the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) regular-season champions and earned the conference's automatic berth after the conference tournament was canceled due to weather.
 
Penn State Behrend hits .330 as a team (58th D-III) this season and has outscored opponents 231-126 on the year. AJ Nichols is the team's top player at the plate, hitting .432 (57 for 132) with 19 extra-base hits and a team-leading 34 RBIs, 34 runs scored and .644 slugging percentage. Allania Banta follows with a .391 batting average, 26 RBIs and a team-best five homers, while Alexa Bupp hits .388 with a team-high 21 extra-base hits and 32 RBIs. Nichols also is one of the team's top pitchers, going 11-4 with a 2.20 ERA and 66 strikeouts in 98.2 innings, and she is joined at the top of the rotation by Rachel Miller, who is 11-3 with a 2.72 ERA in a team-best 100.1 innings of work.
 
Manhattanville and PSU Behrend have one common opponent this season, as the Valiants beat Fredonia State University 2-1 (8 inn.) on Spring Break while the Lions swept the Blue Devils by dual scores of 3-0 on April 25.
 
ALL-TIME VS. PENN STATE BEHREND: Manhattanville and Penn State Behrend have met four times, with the Valiants holding a 3-1 lead. After dropping the first meeting in 1989, the Valiants have won the last three games, coming on Spring Break in 2009, 2015 and 2016.
 
NCAA TOURNAMENT – ROCHESTER, NEW YORK REGIONAL SCHEDULE
Friday, May 12, 2017
Game One – 1:00 pm: #2 William Paterson vs. #3 Manhattanville 
Game Two – 3:30 pm: #1 St. John Fisher vs. #4 Penn State Behrend
 
Saturday, May 13, 2017
Game Three – 11:00 am: Game #1 Winner vs. Game #2 Winner
Game Four – 1:30 pm: Game #1 Loser vs. Game #2 Loser (loser is eliminated)
Game Five – 4:00 pm: Game #3 Loser vs. Game #4 Winner (loser is eliminated)
 
Sunday, May 14, 2017 – Championship Round
Game Six – 12:00 pm: Game #3 Winner vs. Game #5 Winner
Game Seven – 2:30 pm: Game #3 Winner vs. Game #5 Winner (if necessary)
 
For those who plan on being attendance this weekend, single-session tickets are $6.00 for adults, $5.00 for senior citizens and veterans, and $3.00 for children under 12 years old. If you can't make it to Rochester for the games, St. John Fisher will have live stats for all games, which can be accessed at www.govaliants.com/live, while fans can also follow along with in-game updates on the Manhattanville Athletics Twitter account.